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Top Attractions in Mackinac Island

Skull Cave

Skull Cave is a small and shallow cave on the central heights of Mackinac Island in Michigan, USA. The cave was carved during the Algonquin post-glacial period by the waters of Lake Algonquin, a swollen meltwater ancestor of todays Lake Huron. Skull Cave is primarily of interest for its historical associations. It is believed to have been used as an inhumation site by Native Americans of the Straits of Mackinac area in the 18th century. While in active use as a site for human remains, the cave was also used as a refuge in 1763 by fur trader Alexander Henry, a survivor of the capture of Fort Michilimackinac by Native Americans during Pontiacs War. In his "Memoirs," Henry recalled a night spent as a refugee in the bone-strewn cavern. Henry recalled his ordeal as follows: On going into the cave, of which the entrance was nearly ten feet wide, I found the further end to be rounded in its shape, like that of an oven, but with a further aperture, too small, however, to be explored. After thus looking around me, I broke small branches from the trees and spread them for a bed, then wrapped myself in my blanket and slept till day-break. On awaking, I felt myself incommoded by some object upon which I lay, and, removing it, found it to be a bone. This I supposed to be that of a deer, or some other animal, and what might very naturally be looked for in the place in which I was; but when daylight visited my chamber I discovered, with some feelings of horror, that I was lying on nothing less than a heap of human bones and skulls, which covered the floor! Skull Cave is contained within Mackinac Island State Park. It is located 0.4 miles north of Fort Mackinac in the islands interior. It was designated as a Michigan Historic Site on January 12, 1959, and granted state historical marker #L0004.

Round Island

is article is about the Round Island near the Mackinac Straits. For other Round Islands in Michigan, see List of islands of Michigan. Round Island is an uninhabited island in Mackinac County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The Native Americans called the island "Nissawinagong." The island has an area of only 378 acres . Almost the entire island comprises the Round Island Wilderness Area within the Hiawatha National Forest. The island is nominally part of the City of Mackinac Island, Michigan, but is in fact overseen by the U.S. Forest Service. Round Island is adjacent to, and to some extent protects the harbor of, nearby Mackinac Island, and the estimated 900,000 tourists who visit Mackinac Island annually by ferryboat pass close by Round Island on their journeys. To Round Island's southeast lies the inhabited island of Bois Blanc. The sole building on the island is the vintage lighthouse Round Island Light, currently under restoration. The ship channel between Mackinac Island and Round Island, lighted by Round Island Light, is called Round Island Channel. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour can be seen sitting near the lighthouse in the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time which was filmed primarily on Mackinac Island. The lighthouse is off-limits to anyone who may visit the island. While it is rare for Round Island to see any visitors, there is a small harbor on the north shore that attracts occasional inhabitants of Mackinac Island who sail to the harbor's sandy beach for a secluded, quiet visit. (The beaches of Mackinac Island are generally rocky.)

Fort Holmes

Fort Holmes was a fortified earthen redoubt located on the highest point of Mackinac Island. Originally built in 1814 by British forces during the War of 1812, the redoubt was improved by that army throughout the course of the war to help defend the adjacent Fort Mackinac from a possible attack by the U.S. Army. The British named the redoubt Fort George and reinforced it with cannon, a blockhouse, and a magazine for gunpowder and other munitions. However, Fort Holmes never functioned as an independent military fortification. It was always a dependent outpost of nearby Fort Mackinac. When United States armed forces reoccupied Mackinac Island in 1815 under the terms of the Treaty of Ghent, they took possession of Fort George. They surveyed and measured their prize, which they renamed Fort Holmes, in honor of Major Andrew Holmes, a casualty in the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island. However, the American army soon abandoned Fort Holmes. The earthworks and buildings of the former redoubt slowly eroded and disappeared over the course of more than a century. In 1936, as part of efforts to fight the nationwide Great Depression, a corps of CCC workers were assigned to Mackinac Island. Using the original 1817 American survey and plans, they rebuilt Fort Holmes to its War of 1812 appearance. As of 2010 most of the reconstructed buildings of Fort Holmes have again disappeared, except for the redoubts earthen walls. Many visitors come to the fort site for a view of the Straits of Mackinac, much of which is visible from this lookout point approximately 310 feet above the surface of Lake Huron. In July 2013 the Mackinac Island State Park announced plans for a second reconstruction of Fort Holmes. The rebuilt redoubt will resume the appearance that it had in 1817.

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